Earlier this month Apple updated its App Store guidelines to allow developers to distribute “retro game console emulators” for iOS and iPadOS for the first time. But it was unclear at first whether that meant all emulators were welcome, or if this was just a way to let game publishers offer emulators that would allow you to download officially licensed ROMs to play on your device.
Then this weekend the first Game Boy emulator was approved… and then quickly booted from the App Store, which left some folks wondering if this was an indication that Apple was going to block emulators that allow users to play any old ROM downloaded from the internet. Somewhat to my surprise, the answer appears to be no. Apple kicked the iGBA app out of its store for a different reason.
Shortly after it showed up in the App Store, GBA4iOS developer Riley Testut noted that it appeared to be “knock-off,” of that open source, decade-old Game Boy Emulator. Apple has confirmed to MacRumors and 9to5Google that this is why the app was removed from the App Store so quickly.
More interestingly, Apple has also confirmed that its new App Store guidelines do not prohibit apps that allow users to load ROMs downloaded from the internet “so long as the app is emulating retro consoles only.”
In other words, don’t expect to see a Nintendo Switch emulator or any other emulator for current-gen consoles in the App Store anytime soon. But Game Boy, Atari, C64, MAME, and SCUMM emulators, among others, appear to be fair game.
Here’s a roundup of other recent tech news from around the web.
Another Kindle Discontinued [The eBook Reader]
It looks like Amazon may have discontinued the entry-level Kindle Paperwhite with 8GB of storage. The only remaining options are the 16GB Kindle Paperwhite for $150 or the $180 Signature Edition model with 32GB and wireless charging.
There are still some pages on Amazon that link to the discontinued 8GB model, but the link is now broken.
Perhaps this is an indication that a new model is on the way? Maybe with an E Ink color display to match the latest Kobo offerings? It’s not impossible, but I’m also not holding my breath, as E Ink’s Kaleido displays come with some trade-offs (you get 4096 colors, but they’re rather dull looking and pixel density for color content is substantially lower than for black and white). So I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon sticks to black and white for its Kindle devices and continues to push folks who want color displays towards it Fire tablets.Â
Radxa ROCK 5 ITX: A First Look [bret.dk]
Radxa unveiled the Rock 5 ITX a few weeks ago as the company’s first mini ITX motherboard with a Rockchip RK3588 processor. It also has 8GB of LPDDR5 memory and all the connectors you’d expect from a full-fledged PC mainboard (multiple USB, HDMI, Ethernet, and audio) + four SATA ports, PoE, and more. And now the first samples are rolling out to testers, who are sharing real-world photos (and eventually, performance notes).Â
You can also find more pictures at the Radxa forum.Â
DIY Windows Handheld Cyberdeck [iketsj / YouTube]
This cyberdeck combines the guts of a Windows PC stick with an Intel Atom Cherry Trail processor, a DIY thumb keyboard with mouse functions, two displays, and a VERY DIY aesthetic.
Keep up on the latest headlines by following @liliputing_liliputing.com on Mastodon (or @[email protected]). You can also follow Liliputing on X and Facebook. We’re also on Bluesky now, but just barely.
I’m guessing then a PS4-Pro Emulator is “fair game” since that is an obsolete system now that the PS5-Pro is to be released soon ?
Even if it was possible, somehow I doubt it would be allowed. Just like how I doubt the NSwitch emulator would be allowed even though it’s a console system that is FAR closer to the 2005 Xbox 360 than the 2017 PS4 Pro. Even if we get the release of the “Super Switch ” and the old system is declared obsolete.
Apple does not want that fight with Nintendo.
Another ignorant comment.
Care to add to the conversation?
Or you just like to poke fun, stand on the sidelines and not make a meaningful contribution?
I see it, and so do many people, as the NSwitch being a “fair game” for emulation. It is at best a 2009-level hardware as a Home Console, or it is a 2015-level hardware as a Pocketable Console. Since it’s not pocketable, we have to either go with the former, or we have to split the difference and call it a hybrid. Doing so would make it a 2012-level of hardware (ie Mini PC) if we did split the difference. These may sound “ignorant” but there is a lot of context behind such thinking.
So with some context, we should be asking ourselves… is it fair game to emulate a system from 2017 ? How about 2014 ? How about 2012 ? How about 2009 ? How about 2005 ?
….where do we draw the line?
….where is your line?
…….my line is anything below the XB1 Console. It sounds like your line is anything below the PS Vita, but that is upto you to communicate.
If you want a list of Gaming Consoles in descending order of performance, here:
PS5-Pro, XSX, PS5, XSS,
XB1X, PS4-Pro, Valve SteamDeck, Nintendo Next/Super Switch, PS4, XB1,
NSwitch, Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita,
Xbox, Wii, GameCube, 3DS, PS2,
PSP, Dreamcast, NDS, N64, PS1, Saturn,
Nokia N-Gage, Jaguar, 3DO, CDi, 32X, NeoGeo Home, GBA,
SNES, MegaDrive, Nomad, PCEngine GT, Turbografx-16,
Atari Lynx, GameGear, Master System, Neo Geo Pocket, GBC, WonderSwan, NES,
Gameboy, Commodore, ColecoVision, Atari Pro, Mattel intell iVision, Atari Plus, etc etc.
More ignorance and stupidity. What an embarassment. You entitled babies don’t get to just decide what is-and-isn’t justifyable based on your own arbitrary and irrelevant standards of hardware performance. What you are really doing is just grasping at straws to rationalize piracy, because you are entitled.
I won’t waste any more time since you are unworthy of it.
It seems that Ars Technica’s interpretation of the rules is that any console could be emulated, provided whoever owns the intellectual property rights for the console and a bunch of the games for it agree to put together an emulator, and a collection of a fraction of the games ever made for it, whatever the result may be would be allowed on the store.
There will probably be different rules for emulators that play games that are NOT part of such collections.
Apple may also decide that, in either case, “retro” means the console and/or any consoles that used its physical media, and/or the physical media itself, have to have not been manufactured for arbitrary numbers of years.
Sarcasm: And who are we to question the great and mighty Apple’s judgement?
Thanks Some Guy. Not sure what the problem with Jameson is, he’s just a narcissist. You ask him a direct question and he avoids it like the plague and accuses you of a strawman fallacy.
The legal part is emulation is NOT illegal. Emulation is NOT piracy. It is only the sharing of copyrighted software that is. And it is even arguable if piracy is immoral, it is not decided if the act is bad. Just because it is banned in some countries does not mean it’s bad, I can give examples on this phenomenon.
Apple already had some emulators in the AppStore, but these were not for mainstream gaming devices. Now they do. But where do we draw the line? No-one is telling us. I have a list up there, I made it easier for people to thinking about it.
Until people can think, and answer direct questions, we will always live in this unpredictable fog. Name calling is just kindergarten level of behaviour.